NRI weddings give tourism industry a reason to celebrate

NEW DELHI: The wedding season that just kicked off will not just boost the fortunes of wedding planners, marriage halls and caterers, but it will also give a leg up to the $42-bn tourism industry. As more and more NRI and cocktail (where one of the groom or bride is a NRI) weddings are organised in India, hotels and travel agents alike are gearing up to joint the bandwagon.

Not to mention the much coveted publicity that India is gaining as a tourist destination and a marriage hub because of the surge in the number of NRI weddings. According to experts, the growth of wedding tourism is almost 100% on a year-on-year basis.

For NRIs, theme weddings are passe; now, the buzz is about destination weddings. While Rajasthan and Goa remain preferred marriage destinations, newer destinations like Kerala, locales in the Himalayas and religious places like Pushkar and Varanasi are gaining popularity. "Aamby Valley and Mahabaleshwar are also in queue," says Swati Sood, wedding planner, Bollywood Secrets.

Rajasthan, known for it's royal weddings at heritage properties, tops the list of marriage destinations. "This season we have 20 NRI weddings lined up. Around 60% of our clientele comprises NRIs," says Ankit Bhargava, director, Regal Weddings, Rajasthan based wedding planners. Generally, the ratio of foreigners to Indians in an NRI wedding is 7:3. On an average, an NRI wedding organised in India costs Rs 50 lakh.

A high-end NRI wedding, however, can cost over Rs 1 crore. For instance, the cost of an NRI wedding organised by Harjai's Wedding Planners, slated in February '07 for 200 guests is around Rs 3 crore. In a four day affair, two days will be spent in Delhi and remaining two in Jaipur. The wedding ceremony will be held in Jaipur.

This wedding season, starting November, hotels are expecting higher occupancy rates as a number of NRI weddings are lined up. For instance, Sarovar Hotels is organising six NRI weddings (in Kerala and Punjab) this season. Around 30 rooms have been booked for seven days at its Kerala property for a cocktail wedding adding Rs 25-30 lakh to hotel's kitty.

Food and beverage sales also shoot up during weddings adding to hotel's revenue. Tour Operators are busy arranging for accommodation and travel for their NRI wedding clients. "On an average, 50-150 rooms are booked in a star category hotel for a NRI wedding organised in India. The number of wedding clients that we handle has gone up by 15% this year," Arup Sen, executive director, Cox & Kings told ET.

The reason for such flared-up market can be attributed to the Indian heritage and the NRI attachment to their roots. "The attachment to one's own culture and the royal heritage of India are attracting more and more NRIs," says Jai Raj Gupta, CEO, Shaadionline.com. Another reason for increase in wedding tourism is that when NRIs return after the celebration, word-of-mouth brings more tourists to India.